The Might of a Single Kick

"Silence."

From atop the platform, a cool female voice suppressed all the clamor.

Ye Zhiyu stood in the wind in a moon-white gown, like an immortal cast down from the heavens.

Her gaze swept across the grounds, and the restless crowd instantly fell silent as cicadas in winter.

"Today's practical assessment will follow the usual rules."

"Based on the previous assessment of cultivation levels, opponents will be matched within the same realm or nearby realms. Qi Refining, Third Layer may be matched against at most the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, and so on. Victors who challenge above their realm will receive double points."

With a sweep of Ye Zhiyu's sleeve, a screen of spiritual light rose into the sky.

Among the densely packed match listings, Ye Xingchen's name was absent.

Ye Xingchen was not surprised. He had skipped classes for a month.

The arena battles began.

"First match, Zhao Xin versus Zhou Song!"

At the referee's command, two disciples at Qi Refining, Third Layer leaped onto the arena, exchanged bows, then immediately began flailing at each other.

Fireballs flew crookedly, while their sword techniques were limp and powerless.

Ye Xingchen glanced once before looking away.

Too crude.

To him, the movements of the two onstage were as slow as snails, their entire bodies riddled with openings.

The swordsman had an unsteady lower stance—one kick to the knee would make him kneel and call him daddy. As for the fire user, his chanting time was enough for Ye Xingchen to pound him into minced meat eight hundred times.

"Good!"

"Senior Brother is mighty!"

Yet the surrounding disciples watched with blood boiling, cheers rising one after another.

Ye Xingchen rubbed his temples in pain.

This was not cultivating immortality. This was a brawl at the village entrance.

The second match was Yang Tianhua against Lin Niannian.

The third match was Liu Guangyu against Chi Shuai.

As time passed, it was Zhao Kai's turn.

His opponent was a newcomer at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.

Zhao Kai did not even use a martial technique. Relying on his deeper spiritual energy, he rammed his opponent right off the arena.

Simple and brutal.

After winning, Zhao Kai stood in the center of the arena, basking in the cheers as his provocative gaze stabbed toward Ye Xingchen in the corner.

Ye Xingchen ignored him outright.

An hour later, the first round of battles ended.

"The second round of assessment begins."

Ye Zhiyu's voice rang out again, her gaze lingering almost imperceptibly on Ye Xingchen for a moment.

As an elder, she knew very well what "advancing to a Third-Rank Artifact Refiner within one month of Initiation Stage" meant.

Even an artifact-refining genius would be no more than this.

"Since some disciples were absent from the assessment and were not included on the list."

Ye Zhiyu withdrew her gaze, her tone indifferent. "A challenge segment has been specially established. Those who were absent may accept challenges from anyone. Winning one match earns ten points; losing one match deducts ten points. All rewards obtained will be handed over to the victor."

The entire grounds erupted.

Everyone's eyes focused in perfect unison on Ye Xingchen.

"Anyone can challenge him?"

Zhao Kai's eyes immediately lit up.

The opportunity had arrived!

He could win back the face he had lost just now!

"Elder Ye!"

Zhao Kai stepped forward, his voice booming like a great bell. "This disciple, Zhao Kai, requests to challenge Ye Xingchen!"

The entire grounds fell silent.

Then a wave of jeers erupted from the crowd, all eager to see the excitement grow.

Ye Zhiyu's brows drew together slightly as she looked toward the corner. "Ye Xingchen, will you accept?"

Ye Xingchen sighed, slowly rose to his feet, and patted the dust from his backside.

"Not fighting."

Two words, heavy as falling stones.

The entire crowd nearly collapsed.

The vicious grin on Zhao Kai's face froze. He nearly failed to catch his breath. "What did you say?!"

"I said, I'm not fighting."

Ye Xingchen straightened his sleeves, his face full of disdain. "I'm a civilized man. I don't like fighting and killing."

"Besides, I can choose not to accept."

The crowd burst into laughter.

"He chickened out! This kid definitely chickened out!"

"Well, Fourth Layer of Qi Refining against Sixth Layer of Qi Refining—he'd only get beaten up if he went up there."

"What civilized man? He's just a spineless coward!"

Zhao Kai's face flushed liver-purple, and even the finger pointing at Ye Xingchen trembled. "Ye Xingchen! Are you even a man? If you are, get up here!"

"A provocation?"

A playful curve touched Ye Xingchen's lips. "Too low-level."

He paused, then changed the subject.

"It's not impossible if you want a beating, but there should at least be some stakes, right? My appearance fee is very expensive."

He was currently so poor that even the wind whistled through his pockets, and he had been worrying about where to make money.

"Stakes?"

Zhao Kai seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Fine! If you win, five Blood-Coagulating Pills!"

"Ten."

Ye Xingchen raised one finger. "One pill short, no deal."

"Ten? Why don't you just rob us!"

"That's right. You lousy artifact refiner, is your appearance fee worth ten Qi Condensation Pills?"

"So noisy... No money? Then don't imitate others and come out here showing off." Ye Xingchen turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Zhao Kai, fight him! I'll put up two!"

"I'll put up one too! I just want to see this brat get beaten flat!"

"Count me in!"

These so-called resource faction members had nothing better to do and loved watching a spectacle. They began digging into their pockets, hoping to make the matter bigger.

In the blink of an eye, they had gathered ten pills.

Looking at that pile of pills, a gleam flashed through Ye Xingchen's eyes.

When people offered money, he would take it even if heaven struck him with lightning.

"Since all you senior brothers and sisters are so enthusiastic..."

Ye Xingchen tapped the ground lightly with his toes.

There was no flashy movement technique. Like a falling leaf, he drifted lightly onto the arena.

He stood before Zhao Kai, both hands still tucked inside his sleeves, his posture lazy to the extreme.

Zhao Kai gave a vicious grin as spiritual energy surged around his body. "Ye Xingchen, today I'll let you know that trash will always be tra—"

"Enough, enough."

Ye Xingchen impatiently dug at his ear, cutting off Zhao Kai's grand declaration.

"You talk too much. Hurry up."

Zhao Kai moved.

Stepping on flowing wind, his figure became so fast that only a blurry afterimage remained.

"So fast! Is this the strength of the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining?"

"Senior Brother Zhao Kai's Windwalking Art has probably reached the Great Mastery realm!"

"Did Ye Xingchen go stupid? Why isn't he moving at all?"

Ye Xingchen stood where he was, hands in his sleeves, eyelids half-lowered.

Zhao Kai's so-called extreme speed was like a fly buzzing wildly around, irritating beyond measure.

And it was far too slow.

Every movement was clearly visible, riddled with openings.

"It's over!"

A furious shout exploded behind Ye Xingchen.

Zhao Kai's figure abruptly stopped. Borrowing the momentum of his high speed, his right fist wrapped in scorching air blasted straight toward Ye Xingchen's spine.

Yellow Tier top-grade martial technique—Explosive Flame Fist!

If this punch landed solidly, his spine would surely break.

Ruthless enough.

A trace of coldness flashed through Ye Xingchen's eyes.

Since you wanted to cripple me, there was no need for me to be polite either.

He did not turn around.

At the instant the scorching fist wind was about to touch his clothes, he simply kicked his right leg backward, cleanly and decisively.

Simple, direct, violent.

Crack!

A crisp sound of bone breaking.

Only then came a muffled bang.

The vicious grin still hung on Zhao Kai's lips, but his eyes bulged out instantly, his features twisting into a tangled mess under the extreme pain.

A terrifying force tore straight through his protective spiritual energy and stamped viciously onto his chest.

He felt as though he had not been kicked.

Rather, he had been struck head-on by a prehistoric colossal elephant charging at full speed.

Whoosh—

The blue-clad figure shot backward.

He was twice as fast as when he had just used his movement technique.

Zhao Kai's body drew a straight line through the air, smashing through the thick solid-wood railing at the edge of the arena before crashing into a crowd more than ten meters away without losing momentum.

Dust billowed.

Several unlucky people who failed to dodge in time were knocked to the ground, and cries of pain rose everywhere.

The entire grounds lost their voices in an instant.

Only the wind wailed as it passed through the shattered railings of the arena.

What had happened?

Everyone's minds were blank.

One moment ago, Zhao Kai had been showing off his moves. The next, he had flown away?

A cultivator at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining had been kicked away with one foot?

No one had even seen how Ye Xingchen had thrown that kick.

On the arena.

Ye Xingchen slowly withdrew his right leg.

"Are you a spinning top? You kept turning nonstop. You made me dizzy."